Heidi Smith opened Kale & Kettle in August after finding a lack of healthy food options in Montgomery County.

“I like good food, and we are starving for that out here,” she said. “So I decided to do it myself.”

Smith said she worked as a chef in the food and beverage industry for over 35 years. She served under renowned Philadelphia chefs, such as Bob Gagliaridi and Frankie Sestito, before moving to Texas in 2003. After relocating to Montgomery, she said she became an apprentice for Cory Garrison and Giovanny Sarg at the former La Torretta until she decided to become a small-business owner.

“We started out as just a takeout cafe, but there was a large cry for dine-in,” Smith said. “So we decided to just go ahead and do it. Go big or go home, right?”

All the fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat come from local growers, farmers markets and farms.


“I go wherever I can get my hands on food that’s fresh, that I can touch and see because I am extremely picky,” Smith said. “Everything is fresh, every morning. ... We don’t store things overnight, so when it runs out, it runs out.”

The menu includes a range of Asian, Indian and Mediterranean cuisines, such as the ginger tamari turkey meatballs and spicy eggplant, Indian fried rice and Nosh plates, which are small bite items.When Kale & Kettle started as a takeout cafe, Smith said the menu changed almost daily, but with the opening of the dine-in space April 1, the restaurant includes a set menu with weekly and nightly specials.

“I wanted everything to be retro,” she said. “I wanted it to be what I envisioned when I was 5-6 years old, and it actually is.”

The space includes retro dining booths; a screen playing films from the 1950s-1980s; and an old-school candy and dessert shop, which serves tea blends, tea sandwiches, ice cream and European desserts.


“If I had to describe Kale & Kettle in one sentence, it’s just a nice, down-to-earth place to be in with fresh, healthy food,” Smith said.

Farm to table

Kale & Kettle locally sources fruits, vegetables, meats and eggs from multiple farms nearby.

1. The vegetables and fruits are grown locally on a farm in Navasota; the meat and eggs come from free-range farms.


2. Products are thoroughly cleaned and inspected for quality.

3. Produce arrives at the restaurant every day.

4. Food is cooked daily in the kitchen.

5. Dishes are served to customers.


Kale & Kettle